


that night was just like you (unforgettable)

by krewella



Series: in this moment (i could die with you) [5]
Category: The Creatures | Cow Chop RPF
Genre: M/M, Marriage Proposal, Meet-Cute, Songfic, fluffy fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-01 04:11:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12148356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krewella/pseuds/krewella
Summary: James had had a horrible week and just wanted to blow off some steam. Going to his favorite bar was a no-brainer. Lucky for him, it seemed that fate had plans to turn him on a happier path.





	that night was just like you (unforgettable)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, guys! This week has been a rough one for me and once I heard this song, I could not get it out of my head. It's Unforgettable by Thomas Rhett and I really, really wanted to write a fic about it as soon as I heard it. I thought it gave me a nice fluffy reprieve from the angstiness of my college AU (which is still coming I promise!). 
> 
> Title is from the song this fic is about. I suggest you listen to it while you read! 
> 
> As always, you can find me at jamesrwilsonjr on Tumblr and @bubblegumaleks on Twitter.
> 
> P.S. I'm trying new formatting things, so let me know what you think!

It was finally the weekend for James and he had been chomping at the bit to blow off some steam. His boss had been breathing down his neck about not meeting deadlines for his projects and quite frankly, he didn’t give a shit. He showed nothing but utmost professionalism around his coworkers, and reserved every snide comment for his best friend Joe. 

He was supposed to go out with Joe tonight, in fact, but Joe had blown him off to have date night with his girlfriend. He would’ve reached out to his other friend Brett, but he also was wrapped up in his new girl. James realized belatedly that he was nearing that age that he should have someone in his life, too. 

It wasn’t that he hadn’t had a significant other before; he had had a handful of girlfriends throughout high school and shortly after his graduation. He soon began dating men when he discovered that girls weren’t actually his thing after all. 

His ex-boyfriend suddenly got an offer to work halfway across the world and while James loved him more than anything, he couldn’t follow him. He didn’t want to uproot his whole life and he wasn’t ready to settle down. That was a scary premise that he kept shoved into the furthest reaches of his mind. 

He wasn’t going to focus on that anyway. He had some drinking to do at his favorite bar not more than a few blocks down the road from his apartment complex. 

It was lit brightly by a old neon sign coupled with a few spotlights designating the sign for signature cocktails and their happy hour prices. The door squeaked open in a way he knew so well, and he greeted the bartender with a nod. 

There were mismatched barstools shoved haphazardly under the bar and the floor next to the stage was crowded with people clutching their discounted drinks. Happy hour at this place was well-known and it was usually always packed. 

He made his way through the crowd, intending to get himself anything with hard liquor that would loosen him up, but he stopped short at the sight of the man sitting at the end of the bar. He was nursing some fruity monstrosity that was sickly orange and had a tacky plastic palm tree stuck in the middle of it. 

He gave him an approving onceover, finding that this guy was exactly his type. He had a baseball tee pulled over a pair of dark jeans and some scuffed adidas. It wasn’t a breathtaking outfit by any means, but if he didn’t look damn good in it. 

He ordered a shot to calm his nerves at talking to someone attractive for the first time in a long while. He threw it back as quickly as he could, feeling the burn of the rum all the way down. 

He was going to do it. James Wilson was going to make the first move and goddamnit, it was going to go smoothly. 

He sidled up to the bar in what he thought was in a smooth manner and he offered a grin at the attractive man. 

“Hey, I’m James,” James introduced himself, hoping he didn’t come off as creepy or desperate. 

“Aleks,” the man replied, mirroring James’ grin with a smile of his own. James could’ve fallen head over heels just with that. Aleks’ smile was really something else. 

“So what’s that abomination you’re drinking?” James laughed, gesturing to the half-empty margarita glass. 

“A concoction dubbed the ‘mangorita’,” Aleks said, stirring the remainder of his drink with the palm tree. 

James’ next attempt at banter was cut off by the speakers blaring a vaguely familiar Coldplay song that he could swear he heard on the radio just this morning. 

Aleks visibly brightened at the song choice and began to hum along, more to himself than anyone else. He downed his margarita and tugged at James’ arm.

“Let’s dance. Sitting here is fucking boring,” Aleks insisted, pulling James onto the dancefloor with him. 

James let himself be guided by an enthusiastic Aleks who had clearly had a few before James made his way over to him. He didn’t hate it, though, Aleks was an adorable drunk. 

They found a spot in the middle where couples stood close together and friends clumped together in groups all while dancing badly. James was no dancer himself, but Aleks was awfully convincing. 

They danced to the end of the song, the final notes fading away and bleeding into the next upbeat song. 

All of sudden, a burly guy bumped in Aleks purposefully and drawled, “Hey, beautiful, why don’t you come back with me tonight?” He was drunker than the both of them combined and reeked of cigarettes and who knows what else. 

Aleks reached over and took James by the hand, “Actually, this is my boyfriend. We’re having a good time, aren’t we, babe?”

James had to recollect himself for a few seconds as he felt Aleks’ hand in his own and he replied with as much confidence as he could muster,”Of course, this bar is our favorite!”

The intruder huffed in annoyance, but wandered off to find someone else to bother. James felt sorry for the guy’s next victim. 

Aleks squeezed his hand and dropped it, murmuring his thanks. 

“No problem, _babe_ ,” James teased, secretly relishing the fact that Aleks picked him to ward off other potential admirers. 

Aleks turned a faint shade of pink at that, protesting the fact that he was put on the spot. 

“Well, since we’re dating now, I guess you’re going to have to tell me a little more about you,” James decided, shifting to face Aleks. 

“Fair enough,” Aleks conceded, “but I won’t make it easy for you.”

“I’m always up for a challenge,” James declared as he followed Aleks back to the bar. 

“Bet you’ll never guess my middle name,” Aleks smiled slyly, offering James another shot. 

“Oh really? Game on,” James replied, tossing back his shot in unison with Aleks. 

This game went on for the next thirty minutes as James went through his veritable phonebook of middle names and coming up incorrect with every guess. He drank every time he messed up, getting progressively drunker. Aleks drank every other time, “out of pity” he had said. 

“Fine, fine, I give up,” James put his hands up in defeat. He had gone through at least thirty names and he was feeling himself growing tipsier by the second. If he didn’t focus hard enough, he could see two Alekses in front of him. 

“It’s Vitalyevich,” Aleks’ voice deepened with his accented English as the Russian name rolled off his tongue. 

“No fair, asshole, that’s not even English,” James protested, recognizing belatedly that maybe he shouldn’t call someone he’s interested in an asshole. 

But Aleks just laughed, a sound James wanted to hear so much more. “I bet you you couldn’t, and I won,” he grinned widely, clearly pleased he had gotten the upper hand. 

“I’ll let you in on a secret,” Aleks whispered conspiratorially, leaning in towards James. James could smell the sweet yet vaguely musky scent of Aleks’ cologne and it would be a scent he remembered for weeks to come. 

“When I lived in Russia when I was younger, everyone called me ‘Sasha’.” 

“Sasha?” James asked incredulously, “ain’t that a girl’s name or some shit?” 

“No, you fuck, it’s a common nickname in Russia,” Aleks sighed before dissolving into laughter at James’ stupefied expression. Aleks loved nothing more than to confuse native English speakers with his Russian background. 

James talked to Aleks all night. They laughed at every other sentence and dared each other to drink the weird cocktails. James somehow ended up with the same damn “mangorita” Aleks had started with and he decided that maybe it wasn’t as bad as it had looked. 

The bartender all but had to kick them out of the bar as they stumbled out together. They were leaning heavily on each other, and they were reduced to just giggling helplessly. 

“I think I wanna marry you,” James mumbled almost incoherently. 

Aleks smiled the smile that made James melt only a couple hours before, “you think?”

James nodded, drunken faux-confidence fueling him. He was certain this was not the end of their experiences together. 

Aleks leaned forward then and kissed him. It was out of nowhere and James sunk into it. Aleks tasted like fruit and too much rum. It was like something clicked into place and James felt like he was home. 

They clumsily exchanged numbers and James watched Aleks disappear into the night longingly, taken away by the Uber he had called. He began his trek back to his apartment and everything felt _right._

When he woke up to a text from Aleks, his excruciating hangover didn’t feel quite so bad. 

~~~

A few years had passed and James had asked Aleks to be official only a month or so after that unforgettable first night. He had Aleks tucked under his arm even now as they watched Netflix together on his beat-up couch. 

Everything with Aleks just felt normal and right. He didn’t have to try with him; there was no need for pretenses. He could treat him like his best friend, which he was, and the love of his life simultaneously. Joe had given him shit for abandoning him, but shut up once he saw how smitten James really was. 

James was sure Aleks had forgotten his drunken promise to marry him. James could never forget. That night was everything to him.

Aleks tilted his head up to look at James and he poked him in the shoulder. 

“Stop thinking so much,” Aleks complained, trying to get his boyfriend to relax. 

“Do you remember the first time we met?” James asked instead of acknowledging what Aleks said. 

“Of course, I was so ready to be drunk off my ass by the time you walked up and you basically were my knight in shining armor,” Aleks replied, settling back down in James’ arms. 

“Shut up, I was not,” James flushed. 

“You were a pretty good fake boyfriend, but I think you’re a better real boyfriend,” Aleks said decisively. 

James noted Aleks didn’t mention the part where James had brought up marriage that night. He was a little saddened by that fact, but it was really for the best. Besides, it would ruin his surprise he had planned for their third anniversary later that week. 

He just hoped he could live up to the promise his three-years-ago self made. 

~

Today was the day and James believed it would be better for everyone if the earth just swallowed him up right now. God, he was going to fuck this up and Aleks would leave him and it would be a tragic mess. 

He fumbled with the velveteen box in his pocket, turning it over and over in his fingers. He flipped it open and the gold band he had had engraved with the date they met - the day that changed his life - glinted back at him. He closed it with a _snap_ and forced himself to stop messing with it. 

Brett had taken Aleks out so he wouldn’t interrupt what James was planning. James had recruited Joe to help him sort out the venue and the small gathering he had planned. 

James wanted everything to be perfect, because he thought Aleks was perfect. 

It was T minus 2 hours until Aleks showed and James’ nerves were about to eat him alive. 

Joe put his hand on James’ shoulder and told him he was making the right decision and knowing this was coming from his longtime friend, he believed it. 

Aleks was going to be his fiancé. 

~

James decided he wanted to propose in the bar they met in. He was a sentimental teddy bear sometimes, and this meant a lot to him. The owner happily agreed and set aside a Friday night for them to host their gathering. 

He had also put mangoritas as the main drink of the night, because it was too them to give up. Aleks had told him he couldn’t figure out why he had picked that drink that night, but James thought he’d appreciate the throwback. 

Aleks was going to walk in the door in the next fifteen minutes and James felt his nerves manifest into butterflies that refused to leave. 

God, he hoped this went well. 

~ 

The door swung open and Aleks walked in, looking just as good as he did that first night. James really did love this man. 

“What’s all this, James?” Aleks asked in confusion, taking in the decorations. 

James swallowed nervously and fell to one knee.

“James,” Aleks repeated, softer this time. 

James concentrated on pulling the box from his pocket, opening it to reveal the ring he had spent the good part of an hour picking and personalizing. 

“Aleks, I don’t know if you even remember this, but I promised you I’d marry you all those years ago and you know I don’t break my promises. I was being a drunken idiot then, but I could not mean my words more than I do now. You are everything to me, and I’m so thankful every day of my life that I bumped into you that night. Will you marry me?” James tried not to stutter through his whole speech, feeling hope swell up in his chest. 

Aleks looked speechless, but he nodded almost immediately and basically tackled James in his effort to get closer to him. 

“I didn’t think you meant it; I never would have thought you would’ve meant it,” Aleks blubbered, wrapping James in a tight embrace. If James thought he was lucky, Aleks was luckier. 

James slid the ring onto Aleks’ left hand and the spotlight hanging from the ceiling hit the metal just right as it sparkled. 

They stood together for a couple minutes longer before Brett burst in claiming seeing the lovebirds was making him sick. 

James relished in Aleks’ laugh when he saw the spread of mangoritas the bartender had produced. They still had that tacky ass palm tree and still tasted like the fruity monstrosity he had believed it to be when he first saw it. 

As their friends poured into the bar, James signaled for one last surprise. Joe hit play and the same Coldplay song they had danced to filtered through the speakers. 

James was the one to take Aleks’ hand this time. 

~

“This night is beyond what I could ever pull off. Thank you for making it so unforgettable,” Aleks had whispered into James’ ear long after the party had wound down. 

“No, Aleksandr, that was all you,” James replied, meaning it. 

James would never get tired of seeing Aleks’ smile. 


End file.
